Staff Picks: The Bloodletter's Daughter

The Bloodletter's Daughter: A Novel of Old Bohemia
by Linda Lafferty
2012

I've long been a fan of the novel which expands upon people and events from history, giving them a bit more grit and common substance than any history lesson ever could. A good deal of research went in to Lafferty's crafting, including visits to the Czech village where the novel takes place. The author rendered her characters and settings and the events surrounding them frankly, taking pains to be honest, but still allowing them to resound with believable emotion and imagination of a time long past. Despite the graphic nature of the story, I'd venture to say this novel will gain a wide range of readers. This is due in no small part to her thoughtful insight into and careful development of her characters, real people from history. Lafferty created a head-strong and admirable heroine, not without her faults. Likewise, any author who can evoke sympathy from a reader for a character who is a psychopathic murderer rapist, friends and neighbors, this is an author to read.

Set in Cesky Krumlov, a small village in Bohemia (present-day Czech Republic), in the early 1600s during the reign of the Hapsburg dynasty, The Bloodletter's Daughter is an atmospheric and lovingly rendered account of the tragic events and remarkable characters surrounding the blatant mistreatment of a sick and troubled soul.

Erin
Assistant Children's Librarian
Martinsburg Public Library

CALL NUMBER: FIC Laff.L 

What to read next...

Are you wondering what your child will read after finishing a great series? The children's department is introducing What to Read Next Lists to help you out.

Currently, we have lists for books similar to:

Harry Potter
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Dork Diaries
Mysterious Benedict Society
Geronimo Stilton
A Series of Unfortunate Events
The Secrets of Droon
Warriors, Hunters, and Seekers
The Boxcar Children
American Girls
The 39 Clues
Disney Fairies
Princess Academy
Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat
Judy Moody
Shadow Children

All of these books are considered Juvenile Fiction. Soon, we will start recommending books similar to Easy Reader series (like Magic Tree House and Junie B. Jones). We will also have recommendations for readers moving  from Easy Reader to Juvenile Fiction and from Juvenile Fiction to Young Adult.

Right now, you can pick up copies of these lists at the desk in the children's department. In the future, we hope to have these lists available on the website.

Please let us know if you would like us to recommend books similar to any other series!   

50/50 Raffle @ NBL!

The Friends of the North Berkeley Library will be sponsoring a 50/50 raffle in honor of the library's upcoming 50th anniversary on May 16, 2013. The tickets can be purchased at North Berkeley Library or from any Friends of NBL members.

www.rotary5320.org

The drawing will be held on May 16, 2013 at 4:00 p.m.

Questions? Call NBL at (304) 274-3443 or contact the Friends of NBL at FNBL150@gmail.com.

Thank you!

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COMING THIS SPRING: Book Groups for Young Readers

The children's department of Martinsburg Public Library is starting two new book groups this spring!

The Middle Readers (grades 4-6) Group will meet for the first time at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 23, 2013. We will discuss Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson, and we have copies to sign-out in the children's department. Come get your copy today so you'll be ready for fun discussion, activities, and snacks on the 23rd! The Middle Readers will continue meeting on the fourth Saturday of each month.

The Teen Readers (ages 13-18) Group will meet for the first time at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 25, 2013. We will discuss The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. We have several copies shelved in the YA Science Fiction section, and soon we will have more copies you can sign-out for the book group. In the days following our first meeting, we will also show the movie The Hunger Games. The Teen Readers will continue meeting on the fourth Thursday of each month.

Any questions? Just ask the children's department! You can find us in person, via phone, on Facebook (Martinsburg-Berkeley County Public Libraries-Children's), and on Twitter (@MPLChildrensLib).

Happy Wednesday from MBCPL!

handschooling.com

We're seeing green!

 
















Join us at Musselman-South Berkeley Community Library on Saturday, March 16, 2013 for a special children's story time in honor of St. Patrick's day. 

The celebration begins at 1:30 p.m. and will include a lucky story time with St. Patrick's day themed books and craft.

Tracing your Irish roots...

Are you proud of your Irish heritage? Want to learn more about tracing your roots back to Ireland?

If so, join retired librarian Jane Sullivan at North Berkeley Library on Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 2 p.m. for an overview of Irish genealogy and history.

Hope to see you there!

Tuesday Nights at the Library (NBL)

Come join us at North Berkeley Library for Tuesday Nights at the Library. Each Tuesday night from 6—7 p.m. we have special programs scheduled for our patrons.



FIRST TUESDAY:
On the first Tuesday of the month we will have Lego Free-Play. Families and friends are encouraged to come, play, and build creations with our Lego collection.

SECOND TUESDAY:
On the second Tuesday of the month we will have our Older Youth Craft/Activity night. Each meeting we will provide supplies and directions for crafts geared toward our older youth. This month, on Tuesday, March 12, 2013, we will be making paracord bracelets.

THIRD TUESDAY:
The third Tuesday of the month is set aside for our Friends of North Library meeting. We encourage patrons to come out and get involved. Our friends are a great support for our programs and library needs. If you have any questions about getting involved, please call us out at North!

FOURTH TUESDAY:
The fourth Tuesday of the month our Lego Club will meet. The Lego Club is a family program for our local Lego lovers. Each month we will explore a new theme as we create and build. All creations will be displayed in the children's department for one week after each meeting.



We were excited to kick off our first Lego Club meeting on February 26, 2013. Farmer Bobby Sperow and his wife visited with their little piglet, Arnold Ziffel's Cousin, to share about farm life in West Virginia. Afterward we built farmer-themed creations.

We are looking forward to the Lego Club meeting this month, which will be held on March 26, 2013 and the theme will be a surprise!

Pirate Queen to visit MPL!

Join us at the Martinsburg Public Library on Saturday, March 9, 2012 at 10:30 a.m. for a visit from Irish pirate queen Grace O'Malley, portrayed by Karen Vuranch. Light refreshments featuring Irish cuisine will be available.
 
Grace O'Malley wasn't just any woman from the 16th century. From commanding an army of 200 men to giving birth to her fourth child at sea, from imprisonment in jail to her famous meeting with Queen Elizabeth, Grace O'Malley's escapades engage our modern curiosity and help explain an important era of transition in Irish history.

This event is free and open to the public, although it may not be appropriate for young children. The children's department will be offering an alternative program.
 
And if you want to learn more about Grace O'Malley and other pirating women, check out these titles...

How History's Greatest Pirates Pillaged, Plundered, and Got Away With It
by Benerson Little
910.45 Litt.B

They Went Whistling: Women Wayfarers, Warriors, Runaways, and Renegades
by Barbara Holland
920.72 H734

March 2013: From the Director's Chair

http://en.wikipedia.org

March is National Women's History Month. This month has been set aside to celebrate the achievements of women which are often omitted from history textbooks. One such achievement of particular importance is women's suffrage, or the right to vote. It was not the frivolous endeavor as portrayed by the mother of Mary Poppins, with song and dance routines.

When asked by Abigail Adams to "remember the ladies" as her husband, John Adams, was helping form a new government, his response was that men would fight the "despotism of the petticoat."

This opinion held fast and within seven years (1777-1784), New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, which had previously granted women the right to vote, revoked that right. In 1807, New Jersey revoked this right as well.

Throughout the 1800s, the anti-slavery and women's suffrage movements were sometimes allied and other times at odds. In 1867, Congress passed the 14th amendment, limiting citizenship to males only. The 15th amendment, ratified in 1870, gave black males the right to vote.

In 1869 and 1870, Wyoming and Utah gave its women the right to vote. In 1872, Susan B. Anthony and others were arrested for voting in Albany, New York.

The women's suffrage amendment was first introduced in Congress in 1878. Eight years later, the suffrage amendment was defeated by a two to one margin. Utah revoked a woman's right to vote in 1887, while Idaho, Washington (state), California, Oregon, Arizona, and Kansas granted them that right.

Harriet Stanton Blatch introduced the English suffragists' tactics of parades, street speakers, and pickets to the United States in 1910. Three years later, a mob attacked a woman's march for suffrage and hundreds were injured. No arrests were made.

Early in 1917, women were posted as "sentinels of liberty" at the White House gates. In June, nearly 500 women were arrested, 168 jailed. Some were brutalized by their jailers; some severely injured. A year later, as suffragists were released from prison, an appellate court declared the arrests illegal. The 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote, was finally passed and became the law on August 26, 1920.

This compressed timeline of the fight for the right of any woman to vote in America does not do justice to the dedication and sacrifices (financial and personal) that these women and their daughters made throughout their lifetimes.

Whether you vote because of the issues, political affiliation, physical attributes, or first ladies, remember that you owe that right to a relatively small group of determined women who worked for over 174 years to accomplish this. Also remember that as the 18th amendment (prohibition) was rescinded, any other amendment can be as well.

Pam Coyle, Director
Martinsburg-Berkeley County Public Libraries